~ snails in art

(230) RGS [KMV GG 1102]

Usually known as “The Damned Being Cast into Hell” [1] by Frans Francken (II) this work, presently on loan in the Residenzgalerie, Salzburg [2], where it is known as “Der Höllersturz der Verdammten”. Francken made this work probably during the early 17th century (1605–1610) [1]. It is one of the earliest oil paints on which a domestic snail is seen.

Below in the foreground, the snail sits on the back of a man and is an onlooker to the whole scene. It is a dextral Cepaea-like species.